L A N D S C A P E SL A N D S C A P E SPENINSULA OPEN SPACE TRUST

A few miles north of Half Moon Bay, a large, 482-acre property forms

the scenic backdrop to the Coastside communities of El Granada and Miramar.

This land, marked by grassy hillsides, coastal ridges and a massive eucalyptus

forest, affords sweeping views of the coast. Its strategic location provides a rare

opportunity to link other protected lands and create an extraordinary trail

connection from the ocean shore to the crest of the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Key Coastal Property Donated to POSTKey Coastal Property Donated to POST

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This is Wicklow. Donated to POST byMike and Margaret O’Neill and theirchildren, it represents one of the largestand most significant land gifts evermade in San Mateo County.

“A Different World”Wicklow, recently appraised at $3.6 mil-lion, could have been developed into anumber of luxury homes. Instead, dueto the generosity and foresight of theO’Neill family, it will be permanentlypreserved as open space. Of the proper-ty's 482 acres, the family donated 462acres to POST and retained a 20-acreparcel that includes the home where thesenior O’Neills reside.

“We’re delighted to receive this giftand ensure that this beautiful propertywill be permanently protected as openspace,” said Audrey Rust, POST presi-dent. “At a time when there is a lot of

retrenching taking place, it's nice to seesomeone step forward and make a sig-nificant gift to the community. All of usfind it very inspiring.”

Mike O’Neill has been in the con-struction business in San Francisco for40 years. His company owns and man-ages apartment units.

“California is getting too crowded.There’s no place to move,” he says.“When you come down here from SanFrancisco, you think you’re in a differ-ent world. You're in the country. There'slots of fresh air. You see the deer andbobcat running around … the rabbits,the quail. You get back to nature.

“The reason I'm doing this is that Idon't want to see anyone building any-thing out here. When I go out in themorning or nighttime and walk around,I like what I see, and I'd like to keep itthat way. I want to see it left just as it is.I know POST will do the right thing.They’ll keep it as open space.”

WICKLOW: POST Receives

“ You think you’re in a different world. You’re in the country. There’s lots of fresh air. You see the deer and bobcat running around … the rabbits, the quail. You get back to nature.”

MIKE O’NEILL

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O’Neill bought the property in 1994 andnamed it Wicklow after the county in Irelandwhere he grew up. He was raised in a smalltown about 35 miles south of Dublin wherehis family owned five farms totaling 450acres. The O’Neills were the leading potatofarmers in their part of the country. They alsogrew wheat, barley, oats and sugar beets, andgrazed 160 head of cattle and 500 sheep.

Mike was the second-oldest of 13 chil-dren. He showed an early interest in work-ing the land and won the county plowingchampionship when he was 12 years old. Hewent into the family business and quicklygained a reputation as one of the most productive farmers in Ireland.

In 1949, wanting to strike out on hisown, he left his homeland and moved to

Canada where he met his wife, Margaret. He spent 11 years in Canada as an iron andsteelworker, and another three years buildinghomes in Spokane, Washington, before mov-ing to San Francisco in 1962. He started build-ing apartment houses and has owned andmanaged rental units in the city ever since.

Today, at 80, O’Neill still leaves for workat 5 a.m. and personally does all the main-tenance on his apartments. Margaret keepsthe books.

“They call it work. To me it’s pleasure,”Mike says. “I look at life as give-and-take.The most important thing is to know whereto give and where to take. I’m not interestedin making a mint on this property. I’m inter-ested in making sure it’s left as it is. That’swhat I’m after.”

Lifelong Love of the Land

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SPRING 2003 ■ 3

Donation of Beautiful Coastal Land

The PropertyWicklow has a rich and diverse history. The bowl-shaped parcel was used for cattle grazing in theearly 1800s and later became the Blue Gum Ranch,the first settlement in the area. When renownedarchitect Daniel H. Burnham designed the town ofEl Granada in the early 1900s, this land was desig-nated as a 500-acre park and planted with groves ofblue gum eucalyptus.

Today, eucalyptus trees cover more than half ofthe property. Abundant wildlife, including deer,fox, bobcat, raptors and a variety of other birds,lives here. The rest of the land consists primarily ofgrassland and coastal scrub, including the rare andendemic Montara Mountain blue bush lupine.

The upper reaches of Wicklow provide excel-lent views of Montara Mountain to the north, HalfMoon Bay and the coastal bluffs to the south, PillarPoint and the harbor to the west, and Scarper Peakto the east. The protection of this property will pre-serve this view shed and the highly visible, scenicgreenbelt behind El Granada and Miramar. ■

RANCHO CORRALDE TIERRA

SAN PEDRO VALLEYCOUNTY PARK

MONTARA STATE BEACH

PEDRO POINTHEADLANDS

Denniston Cree

k

Reserved byDonor

WICKLOWQUARRY

PARK

GOLDEN GATE NATIONAL RECREATION AREA

PACIFICA

MCNEE RANCHSTATE PARK

FITZGERALD MARINERESERVE

MONTARA

MOSSBEACH

ELGRANADA

San Vicente C

reek

Denniston Cree

k

Mar

tini C

reek

XMontara Mountain

PILLAR POINT MARSH

Mon

tara

Cre

ek

Med

io C

reek

SAN MATEO COUNTYMIRADA SURF PROPERTY

HALF MOON BAY STATE BEACH

LEGEND

POST Owned Lands

Other Protected Lands

Urban

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WICKLOW provides exceptional recreationalopportunities. Fire and logging roads, which will beopen to the public once the land is transferred to apublic agency, afford excellent access to the higherelevations above El Granada. The most significantrecreational potential of the property, however, lies inproviding an important link to other open lands.

The property is bordered by three other protectedparcels: Rancho Corral de Tierra, a 4,262-acre propertyacquired by POST for inclusion in the Golden GateNational Recreation Area (GGNRA), lies to the north andeast; Quarry Park, a 40-acre community park owned bySan Mateo County and maintained by Midcoast ParkLands (a local non-profit organization that introducedPOST to Mr. O’Neill) borders Wicklow to the southwest;and Mirada Surf, a 40-acre parcel being purchased bythe County for park use, is directly south, immediatelyadjacent to the Half Moon Bay state beaches.

When POST transfers the property to publicownership, a continuous network of county, state and(ultimately) GGNRA lands will create a spectacular trailconnection stretching from the peak of MontaraMountain all the way down to the coast.

Thanks to the O’Neill family, you will be able tohike from the beach at Mirada Surf up through the euca-lyptus forest of Wicklow through Rancho Corral deTierra to Montara Mountain. You'll then have the oppor-tunity to trek down through the complex of state andcounty parks that lead to Pacifica or over to the trail thatwill be formed along Highway 1 after the Devil's Slidetunnel is complete.

It’s remarkable to think that these properties,along with the San Francisco Watershed lands, will forma contiguous, 29-square-mile corridor of open lands justseven miles south of the San Francisco boundary line!

Connecting Protected Lands

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Wicklow

The O’Neill family’s donation ofWicklow is one of several impor-tant land gifts POST has receivedover the years from property own-ers committed to permanently pro-tecting their land as open spaceand eliminating the threat of futuredevelopment.

The O’Neill’s 462 acres ranks asthe fourth-largest gift to POST. In1993, we received almost 1,200acres west of Skyline Boulevardfrom an anonymous donor. Twoyears later, 564 acres near HalfMoon Bay were donated to POST byMimi Levitt of New York City.

Here’s a look back at the largest land gifts inour history:

1981: Windy Hill POST obtained this signature537-acre property — the scenic backdrop to PortolaValley, visible throughout the Peninsula — in adonation from Ryland Kelley and Corte Madera

Associates. We then sold the proper-ty to the Midpeninsula RegionalOpen Space District, thereby creat-ing the Windy Hill Open SpacePreserve. The $1.5 million purchaseprice was used to create our landacquisition fund. Eighteen yearslater POST purchased a 204-acreinholding in the preserve fromCorte Madera Associates, prevent-ing the potential development of 20 luxury housing units in the middle of Windy Hill. All but 30acres of the land has since beentransferred to the District.

“It was fortuitous timing,” said Kelley, reflectingback on the 1981 gift. “From our standpoint, it cametogether as the logical conclusion for a property thathad been held for almost 20 years. We had a plan atone time to develop it, but tuck the developmentout of view under the trees. Ultimately, the diverseattitudes of all the people in our partnership cametogether on the idea of making the gift to POST.

A Lasting Legacy: Major Land Gifts to POST

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Mike and Margaret O’Neilldonated Wicklow

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Wicklow

“The key thing for POST was that Windy Hillhad such high visibility. This very prominent, veryvisual property was being preserved. We werepleased to have our project be initiating for the POSTmovement. They were able to sell our property to theDistrict and use the money to purchase other openspace. In a sense, it propelled the program forward.”

1993: Tunitas Creek and Bald Knob An anony-mous donor gave POST two parcels of rolling hills,redwoods and ranchland in San Mateo Countytotaling nearly 1,200 acres — the 480-acre BaldKnob property adjacent to thePurisima Creek Redwoods OpenSpace Preserve west of SkylineBoulevard, and the 704-acre TunitasCreek Ranch above Woodside. Bothproperties offer fantastic views of thecoast and hillsides, extensive hikingtrails and prime wildlife habitat.

Bald Knob has since been trans-ferred to the Midpeninsula RegionalOpen Space District and added to thePurisima Creek Preserve. In the future,we also plan to transfer Tunitas Creekto a public agency.

1995: Madonna Creek Ranch POST received agift of 564 acres of coastal land (now known asMadonna Creek Ranch) near Half Moon Bay fromMrs. Mimi Levitt of New York City. This donationinspired our efforts to acquire three nearby properties — Mills Creek Canyon, MiramontesRidge and Johnston Ranch — to restore thePilarcitos watershed, protect critical riparian corridor and provide linkage to Burleigh-MurrayState Park.

“Giving away this land isn’t a loss for us, but again for everyone,” Mrs. Levitt said in making her

gift. “I do believe that beautiful landshould be preserved. I don’t believethat every inch needs to be inhabit-ed by humans. It’s nice to see somenature, some open land.

“Nature is very restoring. Justto see it does something to yoursoul, your spirit. It gives you pieceof mind. There is something veryspiritual you can get out of lookingat a beautiful mountain or trees,seeing a beautiful sky or a beautifulsunset. It is uplifting.” ■

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Ryland Kelley donated Windy Hill

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Windy Hill

POST has stepped in to help the cityof Palo Alto protect a small island ofland in the middle of the ArastraderoPreserve from luxury estate develop-ment. In October, POST successfullybid to purchase the 13-acre propertyin U.S. Bankruptcy Court for $3.56million. The asking price for the landwas $5 million, and another bid wason the table.

A two-story building of morethan 20,236 square feet — about thesame floor area as a Best Buy elec-tronics store — could have been builton the property, which provides thescenic gateway to the preserve. Theland is located in the Palo Altofoothills between Page Mill Road andAlpine Road, and fronts scenicArastradero Road for about one-thirdof a mile. The surrounding preserveis owned by the city of Palo Alto. Aprivate residence and riding stablesoriginally located on the propertywere destroyed in a fire 17 years ago.

The city has been interested inbuying the land since 1991, but haslacked the necessary resources to do so.POST protected the property to ensurethat the city and its residents wouldhave time to raise money to buy theland. The city expects to purchase itfrom POST within three years. At thatpoint, POST’s investment will bereturned to its revolving land fund. ■

ARASTRADERO PRESPOST helps Palo Alto

protect the scenicgateway to an open

space preserve

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ERVE

DURING THE PAST YEAR, POST conceived of“Conservation in Action” signs to inform the public aboutour work to preserve land, our long term plans, and ongoingrestoration activities on our properties. We post these signson POST lands near parks, trails and roads that are highly visible to the public. In addition to the “Conservation inAction” signs now posted at the Arastradero Preserve, you'llfind signs at Rancho Corral de Tierra in Montara, on POSTproperty adjacent to the Pigeon Point lighthouse, and at theCloverdale Coastal Ranch in Pescadero.

Loma Prieta Ranch, an important link in connect-ing a network of trails from the hills of Los Gatosto the Pacific Ocean, has been transferred fromPOST to the Midpeninsula Regional Open SpaceDistrict (MROSD). POST purchased the propertyfrom Charles “Chop” Keenan for $1 million inDecember 1999. At the time, the district focused onthe purchase of the adjacent 827-acre CHY propertyfor $3 million.

Under the original purchase agreement, POSTagreed to hold title to Loma Prieta Ranch, whichwould be managed by the District, until publicfunds were available. On December 31, 2002,MROSD paid POST $1 million to effect the transfer.

The property links the Sierra Azul Open SpacePreserve to the northwest, and the Forest of NiseneMarks State Park and Soquel Demonstration Forest

to the southwest, and will enable a future trail con-nection between the Bay Area Ridge Trail and theCalifornia Coastal Trail. Located on the westernslope of Mt. Loma Prieta in Santa Cruz County, the493-acre parcel features 40 acres of chaparral and50 acres of redwoods that flourish alongside SoquelCreek. The property provides habitat for a varietyof wildlife, including mountain lion, bobcat, deerand coyote, and is an important spawning habitatfor steelhead trout. ■

Loma Prieta POST transfers 493 acres to MROSD

Thanks to your support and POST’s partnership withthree public agencies, Rancho Cañada del Oro, aspectacular 2,428-acre ranch located less than a halfhour from downtown San Jose, has been perma-nently preserved as a county park and open spacepreserve. This beautiful property features grassymeadows, rolling hills and canyons surrounded byoak-covered ridges. The hilltops offer sweepingviews of the Diablo Range to the east and Mt.Hamilton and Mt. Umhunhum to the south. Hometo a broad array of wildlife, including bobcat, mountain lion, California newt and acorn wood-pecker, this land provides habitat for the threatenedCalifornia red-legged frog and Bay checkerspot butterfly.

Appraised for more than $12 million, RanchoCañada del Oro had been optioned to a developer for$8 million. In November 1999, POST was able toacquire the property for $6.2 million due to our suc-cessful relationship with the landowners, the

Rancho CañadaPOST Completes Transfer

Crummer family, who had previously sold POST the5,638-acre Cloverdale Coastal Ranch. POST con-tributed $3.1 million to the purchase price, using acombination of individual donations and a partner-ship grant from the David and Lucile PackardFoundation. The balance was provided by the city ofSan Jose, Santa Clara County Parks and the SantaClara County Open Space Authority.

At the beginning of this year, POST transferred theproperty to county parks and the open space author-ity. In the near future, our expectation is that half theproperty will be opened to the public as part of theCalero Reservoir Recreation Area and half will bemaintained by the county’s open space authority asan outstanding nature preserve. ■

ALMADENQUICKSILVER

COUNTY PARK

SANTA TERESACOUNTY PARK

CALERORESERVOIR

COUNTY PARKCOYOTEVALLEY

Monterey Highway

RANCHOCAÑADA DE ORO

UVAS CANYONCOUNTY PARK UVAS RESERVOIR

RECREATION AREA

CHESBRORESERVOIR

RECREATION AREA

SIERRA AZULOPEN SPACE

PRESERVE

FOREST OF NISENE MARKSSTATE PARK

101

LOMA PRIETARANCHSOQUEL DEMONSTRATION

STATE FOREST

NEWHAGENMEADOW

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Rancho Cañada del Oro

to begin to move a federal appropriations billthrough at the same time.

POST is seeking $15 million from the federalgovernment’s Land and Water Conservation Fundover three years to match state funding and thou-sands of individual contributions.

So it’s going to be a year of intensive focus onWashington. Our board of directors has formed a sub-committee consisting of Bob Kirkwood, Susan Ford,Dianne McKenna, Ward Paine and Anne Westerfieldto work on this. We need to generate letters of supportand create some momentum for our bill.

Where we need the most help is on the Houseside. We plan to do intensive networking to findpeople throughout California and the nation whoknow the chairman (Rep. Richard Pombo of Tracy)or other committee members and can help influ-

ence this process along with us. The House com-mittee list is posted on our Web site.

On the Senate side, Dianne Feinstein serves onthe appropriations committee. It is critical thatshe know that people here think this is animportant appropriation. ■

The bill to extend the boundary of the GoldenGate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) to includeRancho Corral de Tierra had been approved by boththe House of Representatives and Senate and wasready for final passage. But at the end of the sessionlast year, when Congress took up the Patriot Act,our bill, like hundreds of others, was put on theback burner.

Now, as a result of the November elections, thechairmanship and membership of the HouseCommittee on Natural Resources have changed.We now must bring our case before a new group ofrepresentatives. In the Senate, Barbara Boxer andDianne Feinstein remain our key contacts on the legislation.

In 2003, we need to move the boundary exten-sion bill through Congress again, and we also need

Rancho Corral de Tierra Update

SAMPLE

January 2003

Peninsula Open Space Trust

3000 Sand Hill Road, 4-135

Menlo Park, CA 94025

Dear POST,

Please pass on my message of strong support to our U.S.

Congress for the expansion of the Golden Gate National

Recreation Area (GGNRA) to include Rancho Corral de

Tierra. Additionally, I urge Congress to introduce and pass

legislation appropriating $15 million from the Land and

Water Conservation Fund for this land’s permanent protec-

tion.

Sharing over three miles of boundary with the GGNRA,

inclusion of this property in the park would create a dra-

matic and logical southern entrance. It would protect

unique coastal scrub and chaparral habitat that supports

numerous threatened, rare and endangered plant and ani-

mal species. Additionally, it would provide an opportunity

to create a network of trails with adjacent public lands. I

heartily endorse Congressional action and financial support

for the permanent protection of Rancho Corral de Tierra as

part of our Golden Gate National Recreation Area. This will

be of great benefit to local citizens and visitors now and

forever.

Sincerely,

(Your Name)

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Rancho Corral de Tierra

The Djerassi Resident Artists Program, a well-knownartist-in-residence program located on Bear GulchRoad off Skyline Boulevard in Woodside, hasannounced its schedule of public hikes. The hikesprovide the public with an opportunity to view thisbeautiful land, along with installations by the manyartists who have drawn inspiration from its naturalbeauty.

■ Two Mile Tour dates:Wednesday, April 9Friday, May 2Saturday, May 17Wednesday, June 4Friday, June 13Sunday, July 13Wednesday, July 23Friday, August 1Sunday, August 24Wednesday, September 3Friday, September 19Saturday, October 11

■ Director’s Tour dates:Saturday, April 19Sunday, May 18Sunday, June 14Sunday, July 20Saturday, August 16Sunday, September 14

Twelve free, docent-led Two Mile Tours ofthe program’s grounds and sculpture collectionare being conducted as part of the conservationeasement POST purchased in 1999. The con-servation easement ensures the permanentprotection of the 580-acre property, whichcontains dense redwood forest, as well asspectacular views of rolling landscape fromSkyline Ridge to the Pacific Ocean.

The program also offers six Director’sTours, which cost $40 per person. Thesehalf-day tours are conducted by Djerassi pro-gram director Dennis O’Leary. Plan to bringa bag lunch for the midday picnic break.

Registration for tours in the spring andearly summer opens March 20. Registrationfor tours planned in the late summer andfall begins July 1. Be warned: these popularhikes book up quickly.

For reservations and information, contact theDjerassi Artist’s Program at (650) 747-1250.

Djerassi Art Tours

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POST’S MISSION STATEMENTThe mission of the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) is to givepermanent protection to the beauty, character, and diversity ofthe San Francisco Peninsula landscape for people here now andfor future generations. POST encourages the use of these lands fornatural resource protection, wildlife habitat, low-intensity publicrecreation, and agriculture.

Rob

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SPRING 2003 ■ 15

LandscapesLandscapes is published quarterly by the Peninsula Open Space Trust

3000 Sand Hill Road, 4-135Menlo Park, CA 94025

Telephone: (650) 854-7696Fax: (650) 854-7703Website: www.openspacetrust.org

POST is a public benefit California corpo-ration and is tax-exempt under section501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.Contributions to POST are tax-deductible.

Edited by Deirdre HolbrookContributing Writer: Gary Cavalli

Designed by DiVittorio & AssociatesPrinted by TradeMark Graphics, Inc.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Dianne McKenna, ChairAllan F. Brown

Susan FordVince S. Garrod

Sukey Grousbeck Christina A. HollowayRobert C. Kirkwood Norman E. MatteoniDavid W. MitchellPaul Newhagen

Bill RellerKarie Thomson

Anne M. Westerfield

STAFF

Audrey C. Rust PresidentWalter T. Moore Vice PresidentKathryn Morelli Vice PresidentKatherine Birnie Project AssociateDiana Hall Grants OfficerDeirdre Holbrook Director of

CommunicationsKristen Kancler Executive AssistantSue Landsittel Land AssistantJean Lauer Land ManagerJessica Levy Development AssistantDaphne Muehle Director of

Annual GivingKeryn O’Donnell Conservation Project

ManagerHeather O’Hara Land AssistantJeff Port Capital Campaign

Assistant

Jeff Powers Cloverdale ProjectManager

Paul Ringgold Director of StewardshipDenise Springer Administrative Manager

Saving theEndangered Coast

CAMPAIGN UPDATE

Our heartfelt thanks go to Mike and Margaret O’Neill for theirwonderful gift of the Wicklow property (see cover story).

Their donation of 462 acres of rolling open lands and forests is thelatest land gift POST has received. Some of the Peninsula’s mostbeautiful and well-loved open lands have come to POST as giftsfrom land owners. In fact, over the past 26 years we have received42 gifts of land and conservation easements, from small parcels ofless than an acre to larger properties like Windy Hill and Wicklow.This issue of Landscapes tells about three of these gifts along withthe Wicklow property.

As we work to protect $200 million worth of coastal prairie, bluffs,meadows, beaches and forests through our campaign Saving theEndangered Coast, land owners’ donations of property andconservation easements will play an essential role in reachingthis goal.

We still have a lot of work to do to safeguard our extraordinarycoastal landscape, and there are many ways you can participate inthe campaign with gifts of cash, stock or real estate.

To learn more about Saving the Endangered Coast and how youcan contribute, please call Kathryn Morelli, Vice President, at(650) 854-7696. ■

POST

NON-PROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDSAN FRANCISCO, CA

PERMIT NO. 925

Cover Photos: Wicklow Property (Robert Buelteman)

LANDSCAPESSPRING 2003

Peninsula Open Space Trust3000 Sand Hill Road, 4-135Menlo Park, CA 94025

A land conservancy for theSan Francisco Peninsula

Address Service Requested

Printed on recycled paper

POST

Make no little plans;they have no magic to stir men’s blood.

DANIEL H. BURNHAMEl Granada City Planner & Architect